Me: Too bad. She’s off-limits.
Cav: I think that decision should be up to her, no?
Me: No. It definitely should not.
It was as simple as that. Initially, my goal had been to keep my hands off the sweet woman who was a guest at this club. Now, my only objective was to keep both of us away from this one. There was nothing good that could come of a night with the three of us together. Certainly not here at the club.
Eh. Let it happen. See where it goes, you big, bad Dom. How bad could it be?
Bad. Really, really bad, I mentally scolded that annoying inner voice.
But it’s Cav. And you know how fucking good it’ll be.
Good, probably. Temporary, most definitely. I hadn’t seen Cav in three months, and I knew how the man operated. He would come back to town, spend a few nights sowing his wild oats until he hit the road again.
Hence the reason it couldn’t happen.
However, the one good thing about Cav showing up was that it made it easier for me to dispel that stupid voice in my head. I needed that tonight. I needed to remember I had a job to do and the absolute last thing I wanted was to piss off Zeke. The man trusted me with his kid sister, expected me to give her the dime tour of the club, let her get a feel for what went on here. The least I could do was follow his instructions.
Easy, right?
Sadly, no.
Truth was, I’d never been attracted to easy even if that was the way I lived my life. Uncomplicated was my preference, my objective, my overall end goal.
“I hear Edge is givin’ you a tour, Miss Lautner.”
I glared at Cav, willing him to shut up.
“He is.” Jamie peered up at me and I fought the urge to growl. This was not how I envisioned this night going.
“What have you seen so far?” Cav asked.
Jamie motioned around her. “This is our first stop.”
“Thoughts?” Cav probed.
She cocked her head to the side. “While spanking is a clear indication of authority, it was rather tame for what I expected at a club of this caliber.”
I stared at her, baffled by the clinical interpretation. That wasn’t generally the response I received. I watched her for a moment, wondering if she had a hidden agenda for this visit.
“So, what’s next on the menu?” Cav asked, his light blue eyes glittering with far too much interest for his own good.
If you’re smart, you’ll say she is.
No. No fucking way.
“We,” I stated firmly, ignoring the voice, “are going to take a tour of the club, then Jamie will be leaving. You are going to … go elsewhere.”
Jamie laughed. “You don’t have to send him off on my account.”
“Yeah,” Cav said quickly, grinning. “I don’t mind stickin’ around for a bit.”
I wanted to argue, but I knew it was futile. Cav was one of the few people who had the ability to push me to my limits and tonight I needed to keep a tight rein on myself.
“Perhaps Miss Lautner can lead the way.” Cav sounded far too excited to be part of this.
Jamie’s soft hand touched my forearm and my gaze shot down to it at the same time heat slammed into me. I forced my gaze back to Cav’s and somehow managed to ignore her soft, smooth fingers on my skin. “I was taking her back upstairs. To talk for a bit.”
The look in Cav’s eyes said he knew I was lying, but he didn’t call me on it. That surprised me.
“Would you mind if I joined you, Miss Lautner?”
Before I could respond, Jamie said, “That would be nice.”
Then another silent conversation took place between me and Cav:
Cav: See, she’s game. Let her lead the way.
Me: You will pay for this later. I promise.
Cav: I’m looking forward to it.
Son of a bitch.
At what point had the submissive taken control of this situation? That wasn’t the way things worked in my club. Certainly not a submissive I was in charge of.
Ah. So, she’s a submissive now? Tasty.
No. Definitely not. Jamie Lautner wasn’t a submissive. She was merely curious. And we weren’t playing.
So what’s the harm in having a simple conversation?
For the first time tonight, the voice had a point. Talking would allow me time to clarify to Cav that this woman was off-limits.
Overstepping in a big way, Cav took complete control of the situation. He linked his arm with Jamie’s, then turned toward the stairs. I had no choice but to follow, all the while running through the reprimand I would be giving him later.
“So, what brings you to the club, Miss Lautner?” Cav asked as we made our way up to the main floor. His voice was deep and as commanding as it was rich.
“Curiosity, mostly. My brother thought it would be amusing to get me banned from the other clubs in the area.”
